Monday, March 27, 2017

In The Minority

My collection consists mostly of Black dolls. In a previous post, I highlighted my Hispanic/Latino dolls. In this post, I highlight my non-Black and non-Hispanic/Latino dolls.

 
40th Anniversary Ken
 
Babydoll knock-off on Phicen S02A 
Mattel Becky 
 
Talking Presidents William J. Clinton
Liv Daniela 
 
Dollar Store Guy
 
Fun To Dress Barbie 1988 on DML Amy
Mattel Harry Potter on Obitsu 
 
Happy Family Grandma
 
Takara Jenny R&B Calendar Girl
 
Justin Bieber
Mattel Kevin 
 
Phicen PLLB2014-S08 Large Bust Tan
Flavas Liam 
Dragon Linh 
Momoko 
 
My Scene Kennedy
High School Musical Sharpay 
 
Sideshow Mandy
 
Star Trek Barbie
Star Trek Ken 
 
Mattel Todd
 
Ken
Hairspray Tracy Turnblad 

 Here is a group photo.

And here is the complete Star Trek set.

Having these dolls out reminded me of something that I've been meaning to do for a while.

I got Liv Daniela from the thrift store last year with one purpose in mind: to give one of my dolls an articulated body. Now Sharpay is posing much better!

Justin Bieber approves of Sharpay's transformation. I think that these two are going to be singing a lot of duets together.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Madam LaVinia

I finally have my curvy articulated doll. Madam LaVinia Barbie is the first collector doll to use the curvy body.
"Embodying the unbridled style of the Harlem Renaissance, the second member in the Harlem Theatre™ Collection presides over one of the hottest nightclubs of the 1920s. This music maven features a new posable curvy body and many lavish details!"
 I have actually had her since late last year, and kept her in the box. I've been wanting to take her out of the box, but a bigger part of me did not want to take her out of the box because she is so beautifully displayed there and is such a collectible.

I couldn't bring myself to take her out of the box. So what's a collector to do? I looked for one nude on eBay, but was never able to locate one for a price that I was willing to pay. So, I purchased a second doll to debox.

Here she is out of the box. She has beautiful clothing and accessories. She looks regal. She is able to stand in her shoes without her stand. It was difficult to balance her walking stick.

Here she is up close. Her earrings and turban are removable.

She has exquisite details on her jewelry and the accents on her clothing. Her fur is wonderful, and the chiffon sash around her hips is really soft. 

Here she is with her clothing removed. She had a thread connecting her turban to her head that was easily removed. Her earrings and ring were easily removed (her ring is like the old school Barbies where the ring pokes through a hole in the hand). She had double sided tape on her chest to hold her dress in place, and she has it on her legs to hold her stockings in place. I have decided to leave her stockings on for now. Her hair was stiff, but I brushed it out and she has a cute short curly cut. 

In addition to traditional articulation, LaVinia has articulation at the elbows, wrists, and knees. Her elbows rotate, but her knees do not. Her legs rotate slightly at the hips.

She cannot wear standard Barbie clothes. In these photos, she is wearing action figure undies, and her own stockings and shoes.

Here she is in a seated position. I could not get her to cross her legs on this low couch.

She can share shoes with other curvy Barbies. In the photo below, Emoji Fun Barbie wears one of Madam LaVinia's shoes and one of her own shoes, and she is able to balance. I could not get Emoji Fun's shoe on Madam LaVinia's foot over her stocking.

Madam LaVinia has a slightly different body than the other curvy Barbies. Below, she is joined by Dolled Up Denim and Emoji Fun. They can both wear Barbie bras. Madam LaVinia has a fuller bust and a smaller waist. She does not have molded panties, while the other two do.

All of my curvy ladies can share clothes. They can all also wear action figure clothing. I have packed Madam LaVinia's original clothing and accessories away for now. I'm sure she'll have an opportunity to wear her outfit at a lavish gala to be held sometime in the distant future.

Overall, I love this doll! I feel like I've waited a long time for her. She feels pretty sturdy, and I can pose her easily. Hopefully the curvy ladies will be getting more clothing and shoe options (I'm particularly interested in the shoes, because I can find plenty of clothing for them in the action figure world). These curvy ladies look normal sized to me, so I'd still love to see some truly plus sized 1/6 scale dolls with articulation.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Barbie Fashionistas Crazy For Coral Petite

Last year I picked up a Barbie Fashionistas Doll 24 Crazy For Coral Petite doll.

Here's a look at her outside of her packaging. She has very limited articulation. She can stand on her own in her shoes.

Here's a close-up. She has a very cute and youthful appearance.

With limited articulation comes limited posing, but she's doing the best that she can.

Since she has such a youthful appearance, I've decided that she will be a teen here. And here she is with some of her new teen friends.

Here she is with a couple of her new male teen friends.

I like her. One of these days, I will find a suitable donor body with articulation for her.



Saturday, March 18, 2017

Size Diversity

In this case, when I speak of size diversity, I'm referring to the bust size of the Triad Alpha action figures. Last year, I purchased a large bust Alpha because I did not have any figures of that size.


Today I had one of my Alphas out and I was photographing her because my sister (hi Pam) gave me a purse for my dolls. She wanted me to take photos and she even told me which dress she wanted my doll to wear that she felt would match the purse.

I figured that since I already had her out, I would go ahead and give her the larger bust body. Here is the result. She can still squeeze into the Barbie dress.

I am satisfied now that I have an Alpha with each bust size (small, medium, and large). The photos below are 3 of my dolls with the diverse bust sizes, from small to large.